Cody 5, 6 June

Cody was an interesting and fun Wild West town. The town was named in 1896 after Colonel William Frederick “Buffalo Bill”Cody, 1846-1917.  He was a buffalo hunter, a US army scout and an Indian fighter.  He is best known as the man who gave the Wild West its name when he produced a colourful show called Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World.  The popular show travelled widely in the US and Europe.

 

The Cody Night Rodeo is the USA’s longest running rodeo and the only strictly nighttime rodeo in the world.  They have competitive events like bronco riding, calf roping, barrel racing, and bull riding.  Between events there is a master of ceremonies and rodeo clowns.

A rodeo rider and his bucking bronco horse.

The highlight of Cody was the wonderfully interesting Smithsonian affiliated Buffalo Bill Centre of the West. It consists of five different museums which are home to world-class art, remarkable Indian artifacts and cultural exhibits.

After William F. Cody died in 1917, the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association commissioned Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney to sculpt Buffalo Bill, The Scout. When it was completed she chose it’s site and designed the base to place it on. She also purchased the forty adjacent acres and donated them to the memorial association along with the sculpture. The land later became the home of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

William Cody wore this coat, circa 1870 while serving as a civilian scout for the United States Army. It is made out of buffalo hide with beaver fur trim and it blends both Euro-American and American Indian styles. After becoming a national celebrity, Buffalo Bill wore this coat on stage during his theatrical performances along with his leather hip boots, Stetson hat, and beautifully beaded gauntlet gloves.

Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.

One of the fantastic museums there is the Whitney Gallery of Western Art. This is a cowboy by Frederic Remington 1861-1901.

Settlers on one of the wagon trails moving across America.

Buffalo Drive1947 William R. Leigh (1866–1955).  As many as 30-60 million bison once lived in North America. Plains Indians relied on these bison for food, shelter, and supplies. One hunting method of the Plains Indians was to drive them over a carefully chosen cliff.

A teepee village.

The Flagbearer 1883, Henry Jackson.

Such straight tracks running through the plains!

An outdoor sculpture.

Another part of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is the Plains Indian Museum telling the stories of the American Indian people who have called the Plains home for generations. It looks at their vast history, culture, values, and traditions, as well as present-day life.

This rare buffalo hide teepee dates to the mid 1800s. It measures 19 feet (5.8 meters) in diameter and is made of at least thirteen buffalo hides sewn by women.

A buffalo horn bonnet from the1870s-1880s when Buffalo served as the cultural, economic, and spiritual center of Plains Indian lives. Through ceremonies and times of celebration, tribes preserved their spiritual connections with the buffalo. 

                 A hoop and arrow game.

The Cody Gunfight is a daily free reenactment in the streets of Cody.  People in the USA are very patriotic and most had their hands over their hearts when the National anthem was played.

The shootout.

The badie is down.

Inside the 1902 Irma Hotel is an elaborate bar. Legend says Queen Victoria donated this to Buffalo Bill.

A tunnel on the road to the Buffalo Bill Dam.

Completed  in 1910, the 325-foot-high dam was at the time the highest dam in the world, as well as one of the first concrete arch dams built in the U.S. 

You can walk across the dam and see spectacular views in all directions, especially over the rushing Shoshone River.